It’s good to be home. My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks.
Anders Behring Breivik in court for his appeal case in Borgarting Court of Appeal at Telemark prison in Skien, Norway. (Lise Aaserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
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Skien — Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who killed
77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage, told a court on Thursday that
his isolation in prison has hurt him, causing him to become even more radicalised.
The 37-year-old right-wing extremist, who has been held in solitary
confinement since being sentenced in 2012 to 21 years in prison, talked calmly
in court before a three-judge panel and complained that he had been forced to
strip naked in front of prison officials as frequently as five times a day.
Dressed in a black suit and tie, the stone-faced Breivik spoke
coherently without emotion, saying he agreed with government attorneys who had
warned that the self-proclaimed neo-Nazi had become more radicalised in prison.
„I have been damaged by the isolation … (and) radicalization
has been a consequence of it,“ he said. „I have not been a little
hurt, I have been very damaged. “
Breivik was speaking on the third day in a court case reviewing a
government appeal against a ruling that his isolation in prison violates human
rights.
Last year, Breivik sued the government, arguing that his solitary
confinement, frequent strip searches and often being handcuffed in the early
part of incarceration violated his human rights.
In a surprise decision, the Oslo District Court in April sided
with his claim, finding that his isolation was inhuman and degrading and
breached the European Convention on Human Rights, and ordered the government to
pay his legal costs.
But it dismissed Breivik’s claim that his right to respect for
private and family life was violated by restrictions on contacts with other
right-wing extremists, a decision that Breivik,
in turn, is appealing.
The government maintains that Breivik is dangerous and must remain
isolated from inmates in the high-security prison in Skien, where the appeals
case is also being heard.
Speaking before Breivik addressed the court, his lawyer Oystein
Storrvik said the control over his communications with the outside world
amounts to a „blatant breach of human rights,“ arguing that frequent
censorship of his letters and long review periods means Breivik cannot keep
regular communication with people outside of the penal system.
Six days have been reserved for the hearings by the Borgarting
Court of Appeals in the makeshift courtroom in the gym of the prison in Skien,
135 kilometres south-west of the capital, Oslo.
A ruling is expected in February.
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BRUSSELS, Jan. 12 (UPI) — Two more people were charged in the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, Belgium’s federal prosecutor announced Thursday.
A suspect identified as Farid K. remained in custody after he was charged with participation in activities of a terrorist group and two counts of forgery. The second suspect, a woman identified as Maryem E. B., was released under strict conditions after she was charged with two forgery counts. Each allegedly helped Khalid El Bakraoui obtain false documentation used while preparing the coordinated attacks, which killed 130 people on one night in Paris. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Bakraoui died during his involvement in an attack on a Brussels rail station in March 2016 in which 32 people were killed and more than 300 injured.
A statement by prosecutors Thursday said Farid K. and Maryem E. B. „are suspected of having provided Khalid El Bakraoui with the false documents later used in preparation for the Paris attacks. „

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January 12, 2017
— The police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man just outside of San Diego last year responded to the situation in a justified manner and will not face criminal charges, authorities announced Wednesday.
The incident is just one of several that have sparked outrage and debate around the country. While activists have decried what they see as a pattern of race-based police brutality, many grand juries have failed to bring charges against the officers in question, leading some to wonder if the standards of scrutiny for officers is too high.
Wednesday’s ruling stemmed from a September shooting in the suburb of El Cajon. Alfred Olango’s sister had called police, explaining that her brother, a Uganda refugee, “was not acting like himself.” When officers located him at a strip mall, Mr. Olango pulled an item from his pocket and pointed it at police, leading one to use a Taser and another to fire his gun, fatally wounding Olango.
Police later determined that the item was an e-cigarette, not a weapon.
„The law recognizes police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving,“ San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said in an announcement of the ruling. „As prosecutors, we have an ethical duty to follow the law and only charge individuals when we have proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The only reasonable conclusion was the officer’s actions were justified. “
But many disagree, noting that the circumstances surrounding Olango’s death are different from some of the other recent cases that have made national headlines. Because officers were called to assist Olango and warned that he may be mentally ill, they should have reacted to his odd behavior with greater nuance, his family argues.
„I just called for help, and you came and killed him,“ his sister, Lucy Olango said at the time, according to the Associated Press.
Bringing charges against police officers has proved difficult in a slew of high-profile cases over the past few years. A grand jury chose not to indict Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and another failed to come to a consensus around the actions of Michael Slager, who shot an unarmed man in the back five times during a traffic stop in North Charleston, S. C., during proceedings last month, resulting in a mistrial.
The trend has led many to worry if the scrutiny standard necessary to indict officers is too high, which could lead to a long-term lack of accountability for police brutality and poor practices.
„It’s seriously hard to convict a police officer of a murder charge , it really is,“ Charles Wilson, chairman of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers who formerly served as a cop in Rhode Island and Ohio, previously told The Christian Science Monitor. „No matter what people think about police officers, in these kinds of situations they are still very willing to give the police officer the benefit of the doubt. “
Olango’s family has filed a wrongful death suit against the city, alleging that officers were negligent and used aggressive tactics to confront him.
„The lawsuit is demanding that officers follow the rules so the rest of us can have faith that we can call 911 and a loved one won’t get shot and killed,“ attorney Dan Gilleon told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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KABUL, Afghanistan , Jan. 12 (UPI) — An investigation led by NATO commanders cleared U. S. soldiers of any wrongdoing in a firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan in November that led to 33 civilian deaths.
The incident also killed two U. S. soldiers and three members of the Afghan military.
The violence happened when Afghan forces, accompanied by U. S. military advisers, arrived in Boz, a village in Kunduz province, and began taking fire from Taliban fighters posted inside homes. Investigators said U. S. forces made the appropriate decision to call in air strikes after Taliban fighters began shooting at medical teams trying to evacuate the wounded.
The investigation further found that U. S. forces could have had no knowledge the homes targeted in the air raids were also occupied by civilians.
In all, 33 Afghan civilians were killed and another 27 injured.
Afghan officials called on the United States to pay reparations to the families for the loss of human life and destroying their homes. Members of the Afghan government also have disputed the investigation’s findings, saying the aerial attack lasted for hours longer than needed.
The NATO probe disputed that claim .
„U. S. air assets used the minimum amount of force required to neutralize the various threats from the civilian buildings and protect friendly forces,“ the report stated.
NATO commanders assured Afghan officials everything possible is being done to limit civilian casualties while also defending large swaths of the country from persistent Taliban attacks.
„I wish to assure President [Ashraf] Ghani and the people of Afghanistan that we will take all possible measures to protect Afghan civilians,“ Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of the U. S.-led NATO coalition, said in the statement.

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